#pasta is ridiculously easy to cook and we always have pesto sauce at home and my god it's the food of the gods

[patronsaint-ofthedenial]

Trying to resist the urge to make pesto again

[foursprout-blog]

21 Artichoke Recipes That Aren't Just Dips for a Change

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/health/21-artichoke-recipes-that-arent-just-dips-for-a-change/

21 Artichoke Recipes That Aren't Just Dips for a Change

Artichokes are supposed to be good for gut health and full of antioxidants, but it’s hard to look at a can of these funky-looking veggies and be instantly inspired. This roundup helps you think beyond spinach and artichoke dip, including recipes for bruschetta, pasta, burgers, soups, and salads. Whether they’re canned in water, marinated in olive oil, or fresh from the produce section, there’s an awesome way to prepare them.

Appetizers and Snacks

1. Avocado Pesto Roasted Artichokes

Photo: Little Bits Of

When you’re scooping out the inedible central portion of an artichoke, don’t let all that empty space go to waste. Fill the cavity with this creamy, cheese-free avocado and walnut pesto. It’s a fun-to-eat appetizer that doesn’t even require a plate.

2. Italian Stuffed Artichokes

Photo: Italian Recipe Book

No baby artichokes allowed here—the bigger, the better for this stuffed appetizer. Not only do they make an impressive statement to kick off a meal, but they allow for much more of that buttery, breadcrumby, cheese filling in each bite.

3. Overloaded Bruschetta

Photo: My San Francisco Kitchen

Piled high with chopped tomato, basil, and artichoke hearts, these baguette slices are not your average bruschetta. Pro tip: Make the topping ahead of time so that the ingredients get a chance to soak into each other and really make for a flavor overload.

4. Homemade Artichoke Hummus

Photo: Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog

We know we said no dip in this roundup, but we promise, this is one veggie-packed hummus you don’t see too often at the store—or anywhere else, for that matter. Made with canned chickpeas, canned artichokes, and olive oil, this 10-minute recipe is a perfect example of the power of pantry staples.

5. Roasted Artichokes With Creamy Cashew Aioli

Photo: Hummusapien

It’s not uncommon to find artichokes steamed and served with a mayo-based aioli, but this blogger tweaks the classic appetizer by roasting the vegetable and ditching the dairy for a cashew-based dipping sauce. Everything about this is easier and tastier than the original recipe.

6. Antipasto Turkey Rollups

Photo: The Gourmet RD

Try these savory bread-free pinwheels the next time you’re feeling snacky, where marinated artichokes, black olives, and sun-dried tomatoes lend plenty of flavor to the turkey and cheese combo. Light but protein-packed, a few of these could even pass for a low-carb lunch.

Soups and Salads

7. Roasted Artichoke Salad

Photo: Sunday Supper Movement

Despite the sprinkle of capers here and slivers of roasted red peppers there, this salad is really all about the artichokes. Drizzled with olive oil and roasted until perfectly golden, all they need is a light vinaigrette and they’ll be ready to overshadow the main dish at any table.

8. Mediterranean Cobb Salad

Photo: Averie Cooks

This healthier Cobb salad swaps out traditional iceberg lettuce, bacon, and chicken for a meatless mix of feta cheese, roasted red peppers, and olives. But even with all its robust fellow ingredients, there’s still no upstaging the artichoke hearts, which manage to make their presence felt with their distinctive look and unique taste.

9. Chicken Artichoke Lemon Soup

Photo: Viktoria’s Table

Artichoke hearts bring an extra tangy twist to this Bulgarian-inspired comfort dish. Packed with rice, chicken, veggies, and even eggs, it may fall under the soup category, but it passes as a full meal on its own.

10. Israeli Couscous Salad With Artichokes and Olives

Photo: Cadry’s Kitchen

This salad may have fewer than 10 ingredients, but each one, from the garlic to the basil to the tangy marinated artichokes, brings so much to the table that you really don’t need to bother with additional items. Bonus points if you use whole-wheat couscous for even more fiber.

11. Jerusalem Artichoke and Carrot Soup

Photo: Jo’s Kitchen Larder

Kinda starchy and almost spud-like, Jerusalem artichokes are perfect for giving this soup a thick, hearty texture without the need for actual potatoes (or dairy, for that matter). Pair them with carrots, celery, and parsley for a soup that proves just how good plant-based eating can be.

12. Artichoke Salad With Goat Cheese

Photo: The Home Cook’s Kitchen

Welcome spring (or reminisce about it, at least) with this bright, fun salad. With hard-boiled eggs and goat cheese for protein, veggies in several shades of green, and artichoke hearts for saltiness, it delivers in the flavor, appearance, and nutrition departments.

13. Creamy Vegan Artichoke Soup

Photo: Tasting Page

Cauliflower florets provide bulk and slivered almonds lend some satiating fats, but the mild, slightly lemony flavor in this soup is all thanks to over four cups of artichokes. Rich and silky smooth without a hint of actual cream, this is better than any condensed cream-of-anything you’d get in a can.

Main Dishes

14. Garlic Asparagus and Artichoke Pasta

Photo: Pumpkin and Peanut Butter

All it takes is some garlic and lemon to liven up canned artichokes in this five-ingredient pasta—a perfect example of how veggies really don’t need a ton of doctoring up to taste amazing. Doesn’t matter whether you’re working with the scraps of your fridge or you’re cooking to impress—this is your dish.

15. Chicken Artichoke Olive Skillet

Photo: Running to the Kitchen

Chicken and veggies may sound like a pretty basic meal, but not when you’re getting creative with the spices and produce. Boasting artichokes and olives, plus cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon to flavor the meat, this eclectic skillet is anything but bland.

16. Greek Spaghetti Squash Bowls

Photo: Fit Mitten Kitchen

With squash, spinach, bell peppers, and of course, artichokes, these veggie-packed “bowls” make getting your fiber both easy and delicious. Ground turkey lends a good bit of protein too, making this a perfect low-carb meal on nights when you want something not as heavy as a pasta and more filling than a salad.

17. Lemon Artichoke Baked Salmon

Photo: The Healthy Maven

A garlicky lemon and artichoke mixture is both the side and the marinade for this ridiculously easy salmon dinner. It doesn’t get simpler, cleaner, or healthier than this.

18. White Bean Artichoke Burgers

Photo: A Virtual Vegan

When your fridge is looking bare, frozen veggie burgers might be your go-to solution, but why compromise with processed soy when you can make something much more wholesome with pantry items? These patties don’t require much more than rolled oats, canned artichokes, and canned white beans, and take maybe five minutes longer than reheating fake meat.

19. Jerusalem Artichoke Risotto

Photo: Histamine Friendly Kitchen

Creamy, savory risotto that’s also good for your gut? Bet you never thought that could be a thing, but this recipe makes it possible. Using prebiotic-rich Jerusalem artichokes, inflammation-reducing bone broth, and lots of kale, this dairy-free risotto manages to combine all the richness of comfort food with stuff our doctors are always telling us to eat more of.

20. Smoked Gouda and Turkey Artichoke Quesadillas

Photo: With Salt and Wit

No more picking between a salad and a grilled cheese. Packed with smoky Gouda and tons of veggies, including meaty artichoke hearts, these quesadillas satisfy picky and healthy eaters alike, and the addition of ground turkey gives them that decisive boost from appetizer to entrée status.

21. Shrimp and Artichoke Cakes

Photo: The Craveable Kitchen

If your stomach is saying yes but your wallet is saying no to crab cakes, opt for these shrimp-based patties instead. They’re less expensive and score more points for managing to sneak in a full can of artichokes, so don’t think of this as a consolation prize; it’s actually an upgrade.

[annatriescooking]

Hi, remember me?

So G-unit turned to me yesterday and was like, hey remember when you ran a food blog?

I never forgot. I have a lot of reasons for why I haven’t posted, but they all seem like excuses. The weightiest reason is probably because I haven’t run a blog regularly in a long time. I used to blog at the beginning of college and have dabbled on tumblr since then, but reposting things on tumblr is very different than writing. I like to take my time while writing and thinking about the relationship between words. Writing about food, then, is trickier than normal because of the relationship between the palate and mind is very subjective, so the phrasing is incredibly important.

But anyway. Here are some highlights from the last few months.

Vegan Kimchi

I’m very lucky that G-unit likes adventurous flavors as much as I do, which makes him open to trying and eating all sorts of cuisines. I have a huge soft spot for Korean food and I’m glad he likes it too. We both really like kimchi and I’ve always dreamed of making my own, so once we moved out of the city, I knew I had to try it.

Kimchi is usually fermented with fish sauce, but that’s clearly not vegan. Also, sometimes the smell of kimchi can be overwhelmingly of fish, which isn’t always the most pleasant. Luckily, a lot of people have experimented with getting the same fermented goodness without using the sauce.

I tried this recipe, courtesy of Serious Eats. It turned out pretty well! I left it out on the counter for a day and then in the fridge for a week. We then proceeded to eat kimchi with essentially everything. I’ve made it twice again since then, and G-unit even gave some to his coworker. I currently have a batch that I just moved into the fridge.

Also, fair warning: don’t overpack your kimchi jars. In the batch that I just moved to the fridge, I noticed one of my jars was leaking and decided to open it to clean the container. Unbeknownst to me, there was some serious fermentation going on and it splattered kimchi juice all over my kitchen. Nothing a wet paper towel couldn’t clean up, but the more you know...

Fresh Pasta and Ramp Pesto

My parents were sweet enough to get me a pasta maker for my birthday. The pasta maker, honestly, sat in one of our cabinets for a good couple months before I finally decided to break it out and use it. It felt a little superfluous (after all, pasta is cheap enough to get at the store!), but man. This machine is GREAT.

The best part about it is that its relatively quick and painless. Cleaning is a little difficult (because there are small nooks and crannies on the machine), but I still really enjoy it. It’s also easy to make a big batch of pasta and leave the leftovers in the fridge the next day. I dig it.

Also, G-unit and I usually go to a farmer’s market on the weekends, and spring brought the return of ramps. G-unit introduced me to ramps the first spring that we were dating; I had seen them in Whole Foods but overlooked them because I had no idea what they were. Ramps have a garlick-y, scallion-y flavor, which is both delicate and powerful, depending on how they are prepared. My favorite way to use them is in a chopped pesto: instead of using a food processor, cut ramps, basil, and walnuts on a cutting board together until fine. The juice from the herbs and the oils of the walnuts will blend together and make the pesto extremely flavorful. Transfer that mixture to a bowl and add a bit of olive oil, lemon juice and some freshly cracked black pepper and mix. The flavor of the ramps lends a slightly bitter and garlic-y tang to the mixture.

Ramp pesto on fresh pasta? Delicious. I made G-unit a fancy home-cooked meal (including a menu! Like at a real restaurant!) for his birthday, and you can bet that this was included.

Adventures in Stuffed and Roasted Vegetables

G-unit and I are both really into roasted vegetables. There’s something about the rich flavor that roasting vegetables brings out that you can’t really find in any other method of preparation. We had a couple over for dinner and I made a lemon, broccoli and caper couscous from the Love and Lemons cookbook, which called for roasted broccoli. It was fantastic. I’ve since fallen in love with roasted broccoli and try to figure out different ways to include it for dinner.

Roasted carrots are also really good. Sprinkled with some chili powder and smoked paprika? Yes please. The sweetness of the carrots is complemented by the spices.

G-unit and I also recently attended a wedding (of the couple mentioned above!) and both had roasted vegetables in a puff pastry. Delicious. I’ve been thinking about replicating it, but puff pastry is fatty and not the easiest to make, so I’ll keep thinking about it until I happen to run across puff pastry at Whole Foods or something and get inspired.

Expertise in Covfefe Brewing

I figured out how to use my pour over coffee maker. And between using that to make hot coffee and a french press to make cold brew, we’ve pretty much stopped buying coffee out. We used to stop by our local coffee shop in the mornings before work and on the weekend ($5 a trip!), but now we buy bulk beans from Whole Foods and I’ll grind them and prepare coffee either in the morning or the night before (for cold brew). It’s more time consuming and involves a lot of coffee bean grinding and cleaning, but we save almost $30 a week. That’s pretty sweet. 

I’m going to write a whole blog post about coffee making soon.

Bread Making

I remember when we first decided to move in together, I turned to G-unit and said I was excited to see him all the time, have more space and have a kitchen. I excitedly texted him that I wanted to make my own bread. I’m very lucky that he indulges me in these (sometimes ridiculous) notions. That’s how you know you have a solid relationship.

Another sign of a solid relationship? When your boyfriend asks you what you want for your birthday and you tell him and he was actually considering the same idea. We’re on the same wavelength. It’s pretty awesome.

Anyway, for my birthday, G-unit got me a Le Creuset dutch oven. It’s huge. It’s heavy. It’s blue! And it is great. He was especially jazzed about it when he found out that his coworker made a solid sourdough bread in one. 

This is still a work in progress. I have an awesome sourdough starter, courtesy of this website (yes, I know it looks like it was made in the early 2000s), and G-unit’s coworker, who told us about this. I’ve made two loaves. Still experimenting. They’ve come out a little flat and hard, but tasty. Sourdough is the shit.

I’ve started to really enjoy cooking. And vegetarian/healthy cooking in general. It makes me think differently about flavors and what I eat at lunch from the cafeteria. Yeah, sometimes G-unit’s preferences for food are a little daunting (low to no sodium, whole grains, mostly vegetables and not grains), but its challenging and makes me a more flexible and creative cook, I think. That’s what this process has been all about, so at least there’s that!